Removing oil stains

[Ron41]

Hi all, i am wondering if anyone has had any success in getting oil stains out of concrete, any recomendations ?

thanks
Rony

[undar8ed1]

Liquid magnet? you know that crap they ply on us in commercials like CLR
haven`t tried it but it claims to do the job or your money back.

[LightningVP]

I have always used washing powder for any car stains...put some powder on the stain and brush it into the stain, then wet it a bit and wash it as normal, may need to be done a few times

Works on any surface, and I always use washing powder when washing my hands after working with the car

[Philthy]

Get fuzzy on the job with a toothbrush....

[hako]

G'Day Ron, Had exactly this problem some years ago and searched and asked all the experts who had a particular product which they preferred but most added that you can never completely remove oil stains which have dropped from an engine....the reason is that concrete absorbs the oil - spray a degreaser on it or liquid magnet and all you remove is the surface....this dries and the oil which has been absorbed comes to the surface. If the stain is only new and is fresh clean oil then you may have a chance, but if its been there for some time and came from an engine it will contain carbon and other combustion by-products which bond to the concrete and no solvent known to man will remove carbon...I went so far as to use a masonry disc to grind away about 1/8 of the surface concrete but after a week the stain seeped back up.
Smart people seal or paint the concrete where cars park - which ruled me out.
Now if I see a fresh stain I hit it with powdered cement, let it absorb for an hour then hit with spray degreaser and hose off....sometimes this works.
Good Luck.

[Harvs82]

Being a commodore owner I've had my fair share of oil leak on to the concrete at home, I've found that power steering / auto transmission fluid is definately the hardest to get rid of.

I've used a couple of methods in getting rid of oil here.

First method is using some 'Diggers' Solvent degreaser, it's available at Bunnings in the area where they have mineral turps etc. Basically I just poured it on to the affected area and then scrubbed the area down with a stiff bristled bannister brush. Add more solvent degreaser as necessary. I'd also recommend wearing nitrile gloves and goggles when scrubbing away, this stuff isn't too good for your skin or eyes. Pressure wash off when you are done.

Second method is as follows: Cover the oil stain with a paste made of 1 part lime to 2 parts mineral turpentine. Spread a 5mm layer of the paste over the stained area ensuring a margin of 50 to 100mm around edges. Cover with plastic sheeting and leave for 24 hours. Remove cover and scrape off the powder. It may be necessary to repeat this process again within a day or so. Scrub with warm water and detergent then rinse with clean water at the end of the treatment. Hydrated Lime is available from Bunnings also, where they keep all the quick set concrete etc, comes in a 20kg bag from memory, and its not expensive at all.

Hope this helps!

[Ron41]

Thanks very much everyone, on the newly dropped oil stains the degreaser seems to the job pretty well but seems to depend on how long the oil has had time to soak into the concrete, my recent post were the oil filter was the problem i got those stains off pretty quickly and a good result, but the " as usual " the rear oil seal of the motor has been leaking for years since i got the car when it was nearly brand new, i would like to be able at least lighten them up a bit if possible, but i do realize [as hako said] it's extreemly hard to remove it all once the oil soaks into the concrete, i will give your tips a go and see what happens and write back later on with the results.

thanks again everyone, you have all been a great help " as usual "
all the best
Ardy

[coasty]

saw dust works well. i have bags of it under the daughter car. soaks it up . bam work well to remove stains also

[excalibur]

heaps of degreaser a strong broom and plenty of water and scrub like hell